Steinhardt students showcase work in Open Studios

Melting ice, drawings of the human body and a giant Santa with his eyes covered were all on display at the Steinhardt studio art program’s Open Studios Saturday night.

Open Studios, an event that occurs once each semester, is an opportunity for studio art students to showcase their work to fellow peers, friends and family.

Guests were able to view projects in the Barney Building as well as seniors’ projects in the BFA senior studio space at the 383 Lafayette building. Seniors showcased their work in small individual gallery spaces while freshmen, sophomores and juniors displayed projects of their choice in Barney.

“Open Studios is a good chance to show my work to people outside of the art program and NYU, and it gave me a chance to put my name out there and get feedback from people who aren’t just professors or other students,” said Steinhardt sophomore Lauren Farahani, who showed “Untitled,” a piece of string designs.

It also gives underclassmen and juniors a chance to see and be inspired by senior work, as they will eventually show their work in the Lafayette studio space. Seniors are required to show work at Open Studios, but not all other students are required to do so.

Bria Webb for WSN

“It’s cool because it gives seniors better opportunities, which they should have,” said Liz Moy, a Steinhardt senior who showed several pieces at the event. “Seniors have a bigger space and Open Studios allows us to really focus on our work and move toward a goal since we know senior Open Studios is a big deal and potential employers come to look at our work.”

All classes and genres in the Steinhardt art program can participate, including sculpture, photography, drawing, painting and installation, among others.

“Open Studios is a way to put an emphasis on students’ work and present it to the public,” Steinhardt professor Kirby Gookin said. “It allows for a dialogue between students and the people viewing their work.”

Gookin added that students took the reigns on the event, creating it and organizing it with little help from faculty.

“We teach the classes and help with installations and concepts, but students for the most part are the ones really getting their feet wet and making these events successful,” Gookin said.

Hundreds of people attended the event, moving between the two gallery spaces. Some students, including ceramics students, attempted to sell their work to attendees.

“It was fun to see … your peers’ work, and it’s a chance to see different work than what you’re doing in your own program within NYU,” said Steinhardt sophomore Veronica Kim, who did not show pieces at the event but attended as an observer. “In the future, it’d be nice to have my work there and knowing there’s a chance to do that every semester is helpful.”

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Dec. 3 print edition. Tatiana Baez is a deputy university editor. Email her at [email protected]